BC leaders ask Rahul Gandhi to endorse support in Telangana, demands 34 seats

Hyderabad: “We will only believe Rahul Gandhi after we see that the leaders from the Backward Classes are being given proper political representation.” This has been a constant demand from leaders representing backward communities in Telangana Congress.

With Congress leader Rahul Gandhi demanding caste census for equal opportunities in jobs, education and welfare programs, the leaders want equal representation in the electioneering process too.

“The Congress party must implement their promises of representation in Telangana to show that they are serious about doing the same at the Centre,” said a senior Congress leader who is canvassing for more BC representation in the state.

Demand for 34 seats

However, there are rumours that the party will only provide 25 MLA tickets even as the leaders ask for 34 seats. The seats are yet to be finalised. The matter is under consideration at the central level and the community is concerned for their representation in Telangana.

“We will believe Rahul Gandhi’s promises only if we are given seats. We don’t want nominated posts. We want elected posts only. We want to be in the first gear since only then a Backward Class leader can bring about the change required for the community,” said Sanjeev Mudiraj, general secretary of Telangana Congress party for Mahabubnagar.

With a lot of awareness in the BCs, they believe that fighting for their rights is important. It will only happen if they are in the governing positions. “We need to bring change in the laws and despite several representations, there has not been any movement. We have come as Rahul Gandhi, during the Bharat Jodo Yatra, was willing to listen to us and our demands,” added Sanjeev Mudiraj.

Winning criteria

The factor for the ‘winning criteria’ is leading to angry outbursts among the leaders representing the Backward Classes. “How can they decide based on a few surveys? Why are they not considering our local surveys?” asked a senior Congress leader.

Backward Classes comprise 52 per cent of the voting population. There are 130 different groups of BCs among which Golla Kurumas, Mudiraj, Gouds and Pamdashalis constitute a large number of the voting population. They are united and will only vote for those who will give them due representation.

Mudiraj not represented in BRS

With Etela Rajender moving from Bharat Rashtra Samithi to Bharatiya Janata Party, BRS has lost their face for the Mudiraj community. The community recently had a meeting at Parade Grounds in Secunderabad where six lakh members participated. The meeting also saw Etela Rajender participate as the community demanded a fair representation in the political process.

23 seats to BCs by BRS

With the ruling BRS party announcing 23 seats to BCs in the Telangana elections, the BC community wants a fair share of representation by the Congress party.

“With there being a favourable atmosphere for the Congress party among the public, it is important to consider the demands of BC leaders. They should be given a boost. The demands of the BC leaders have been put to the central screening committee of the Congress party. Selecting the right candidates is important as it will make or break the impact created so far by the Congress party.”

Support winning candidates

BC leaders are asking the state teams to represent them in constituencies where the fight can be fair. With some of the BC leaders being pitched against heavyweights like senior BRS leader Harish Rao and Balka Suman. In the stronghold constituencies of All-India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen there will be no chance for them to win. For fighting the heavyweights, the leaders have urged their counterparts in the Congress party to contest the elections and not use them as scapegoats.

Congress candidates list delayed

With the Congress party scheduled to announce the list after Dusshera the suspense around who will get the MLA tickets is building a lot of emotion.

According to sources in the Congress party in Telangana, “The list is being delayed to stop people from switching to BRS. The later the declaration, the lesser the chances of defection. The final list of BRS will be announced by October 15. Only after that will Congress announce theirs. The bus yatra has been planned for reaching out to the masses in the meantime.”

Appeasement committee

Angry and disgruntled leaders are going to be called upon by the special committee appointed under the leadership of former minister Jana Reddy. This committee is going to carry out the process of reconciliation among leaders before the final announcement of seats. The committee has three other state affairs in-charges: Manikrao Thackeray, Deepa Das Munshi and Meenakshi Natarajan.

With the election dates announced, all eyes are now on the list of names the Congress will bet on to win over Telangana.